States as Firms: Reassessing the Waltzian Analogy in the Global Era

• In Event: Order and Violence in the International System

Abstract

This article examines one often overlooked aspect of Kenneth Waltz’s Theory of International Politics: the analogy he makes between firms and states. I argue that the firm-state analogy allows Waltz to overcome four major objections to realist theories based on the traditional metaphor of the state as a person: (1) the objection to the role of the state as a unitary actor, (2) the objection to the state-centric conception of international politics, (3) the objection from vast disparities in relative levels of state power, and (4) the objection from the cooperation, interdependence, and cultural unity among states. I further contend that the analogy makes it possible for structural realists to move beyond the “state of nature” theorizing and to derive, via the tyranny of small decisions, the rationale of self-help directly from international anarchy, rather than from states’ intentions or the history of their interaction.

Author

• Zhichao Tong, Sun Yat-sen University